Kitchen Magic

 And - the new induction cooktop is set into the countertop and hooked up, cabinet and drawerpulls are on! Thank you, builder Jorge and our electrician, Duane - it's looking much more complete!  

Kitchen corner

I love the clean lines and ease of function.  Drawers are on order for the space to the left of the sink, and I can restock the art cart!

Using the induction hob is a learning curve - one of my first efforts was Rhubarb sauce with one stem of rhubarb, a handful of dried apples, some frozen blueberries,  a teaspoon of honey, some cinnamon, mint and a dash of sea salt! 

Rhubarb sauce

Enjoyed it with coconut milk yogurt on the back porch!

This quick and easy recipe came from a gal cooking in the shed on her allotment. With the induction cooker, it's good to prep ingredients before turning the element on! (I did step outside for the mint sprig) 

Both the wok and my cast iron frying pans have very soothe surfaces, and I just got some burner mats (safe for use with this magnetic system) to help protect the surface.  

They arrived yesterday, along with my new air fryer! My grandson Zander delivered the package ❤ 

Air fryer and induction hob

I was chuffed to choose from several air fryers with Borosilicate glass baskets, rather than Teflon! (It looks rather like a coffee maker!) The digital control panel is on the top.

It comes with a little cookbook, which doesn't mention anything with gluten till page 14!! I look forward to  roasting veggies, cooking lamb. (Shanks!) And trying out recipes ...

This morning, I made a batch of Granola in the Air fryer, using ~ half the ingredients from the previous recipe and tips from Tati's blog post. 8-12 minutes (330°- I used the toast setting), compared to 3 hours in the Crockpot! 

Assembling the Ingredients

Chopping local Hazelnuts 

Granola cooking

One study found that adding herbs to fish may help reduce the fat oxidation that happens when fish is air fried, (any cooking methods cause some oxidation) 

Nice affirmation of my practice of using a variety of anti-inflammatory herbs whilst cooking and in my salads - often fresh from the garden! The cinnamon in this recipe has protective qualities. 

Chives, sage, mache, wallflower

Many of the 70+ pots of plants I brought with me from the Galloway House contain herbs, from alliums to Yomogi (Asian mugwort) celery, sage, marjoram, thyme, winter savory, Yarrow,... so I have many to choose from! And it helps that they are just outside the front door! 

Do you have favorite kitchen helpers (appliances) and a kitchen garden?